Depok, June 26th 2023. Universitas Indonesia (UI) Vocational Education Program held a meeting with the Directorate General of Vocational Education, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) regarding the plan of the development and internationalization of vocational education programs in Indonesia, on Friday (23/ 06). The meeting was attended by the Director General of Vocational Education, Dr. Ir. Kiki Yuliati M.Sc.; Academic Director of Vocational Higher Education, Dr. Beny Bandanadjaja, S.T., M.T., and was welcomed by UI Vice-Rector for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Haris, M.Sc., at the University Administration Center, UI Depok Campus, West Java.
In his remarks, Prof. Haris said that the Vocational Education Program is a level of vocational education at UI which was officially established in 2008. According to him, vocational education is expected to be more attractive and become a mainstay for prospective students in higher education institutions. “We hope that this meeting with the Director General of Vocational Education at the Ministry of Education and Culture can introduce vocational education in depth, as well as the branding that needs to be done to make it something interesting for school students,” said Prof. Harris.
In the meeting, Dr. Ir. Kiki said that one of the challenges that Indonesia faces was the decreasing number of workers of productive age to bear the burden of public service financing. In addition, the quality of the workforce in Indonesia is still very weak compared to the complexity of current and future job challenges. According to her, quality vocational education can be a strategy and opportunity for Indonesia to overcome these challenges.
She added, the characteristics of vocational education are structured but flexible, contemporary, affordable, and have easier accessibility. “Vocational education learning approaches with link and match schemes and work-based learning are starting to be echoed by various vocational education providers in Indonesia to encourage educational transformation,” said Dr. Ir. Kiki.
This is in line with the programs run by the Directorate General of Vocational Education, such as Teaching Practitioners, increasing the competence of vocational lecturers, link and match with industry, involvement in Cooperation in the Business World and Creative Design (Kedaireka), and others. The internationalization program can also be an opportunity for vocational education to improve its quality.
“We continue to strive to provide internationalization programs for vocational education, such as joint degree and dual degree programs, proposing fast track program funding through the Education Fund Management Agency (LPDP) for 2024, as well as international internships,” said Dr. Ir. Kiki. She also said that the focus and goals of vocational higher education through Key Performance Indicators (IKU) cover three dimensions, namely the quality of graduates, lecturers, as well as curriculum and learning.
